On May 19, Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific issued a statement calling for Southeast Asian nations and the global community to respond to the suffering of the Rohingya people who have been fleeing Myanmar in unprecedented numbers in recent weeks. Thousands did so by boat and were stranded at sea after being turned away by Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Visitors to Taiwan are greeted at the Taipei airport by signs welcoming migrant workers to the island country. The authorities provide a lot of information to migrant workers, on their rights as well as precaution measures in place, upon their arrival to the country, even before they meet their agencies or employers. In a country with 23 million people, the presence of more than half a million migrant workers is no small figure.
It was in this setting and context that this year’s Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific Migration Network meeting was held from April 21 to 23.
Two years after Pope Francis went to Lampedusa to demonstrate his solidarity with refugees and immigrants, the compassion he showed is needed. The recent pushback of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi immigrant workers by Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia has made it a call to the Jesuits of our region. Who can look unmoved into the eyes of the women, children, and men adrift on these boats as they are repelled by nation after nation?
Dear friends,
These last weeks, we have seen and heard yet again of the destruction and devastation caused by natural disasters. Typhoon Maysak at the end of March caused severe damage throughout Micronesia, displacing thousands, ruining livelihoods and food supplies, and damaging infrastructure. And just days ago, on April 25, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake has caused widespread destruction in Nepal.
A new Jesuit initiative was recently launched to foster collaboration in making the right to quality education for all a reality across the world. In our world today, 62 million children do not go to school, 250 million children finish primary school without knowing how to read or write due to the poor quality of education and 751 million of people aged 15 and above cannot read or write, and two thirds of them are women.
What do Pope Francis’ visit to Korea, interreligious dialogue, social justice, Jesuit formation, and religious life have in common? They are some of the significant moments for the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific in 2014 and the ones we have chosen to highlight in our 2015 annual report. As is our practice, we also have a reflection from our President Fr Mark Raper SJ on the year that has passed.
In response to the dramatic increase in the number of unaccompanied children arriving in the United States from Central America over the past few years, Jesuit Refugee Service is collaborating with 13 Jesuit law schools in the US to address the issues faced by these child migrants.
Weeks after Typhoon Maysak hit Micronesia at the end of March, the people are still struggling to pick up the pieces and recover from the destruction.
With sustained winds of 160 mph, Super Typhoon Maysak struck the Pacific region just before Easter, causing severe damage throughout Micronesia. Maysak struck the island of Chuuk on March 29, bringing down communications system from the island, and hit the island of Yap on March 31. Jesuits from the USA Northeast Province, the Province of Indonesia, members of the Jesuit Volunteer Corp and residents of Micronesia staff the two schools that suffered losses.
The Centre for Child Protection, based at the Jesuit-run Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, is at the forefront of the Catholic Church’s global response to prevent the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable persons.